Remove Architect Entertainment locations from starting zones

[Arli]

Today, I faced an interesting challenge: A new player had stopped playing for a bit after leveling to the mid-20s. They got to the level they attained through participating in AE content. They wanted a new mission, but had no idea where to look or how to find one. That player was helped, but they were also fortunate enough to be part of a community that was willing to help - and that they were willing to ask for help in the first place.

 

Is it possible to remove AE locations from starting zones to discourage this from happening? At least make sure players know how to move between zones before they join AE content? Nothing against AE content in general, but if players want new contacts and want to experience the game's original lore, they need to learn how to access it accordingly; and they can't do this in AE.

[TombTyrant]

Pedantry is not an answer.

 

But I also don't think this is a good idea. AE is a part of the game experience, and it should be present in the starting hubs so that players can access it as early as they like.

[Darmian]

Correct me if I am misreading this, but this seems like a complaint against early farming/PLing rather than against AE content in general.

[Apparition]

21 minutes ago, Darmian said:

Correct me if I am misreading this, but this seems like a complaint against early farming/PLing rather than against AE content in general.

 

Considering that's quite literally the vast majority of all AE content...

Edited August 16, 2021 by Apparition

[Darmian]

1 minute ago, Apparition said:

 

Considering that's quite literally the vast majority of all AE content...

An obvious truth, I agree. But for the niche section of us that don't use it for that we'd like it stated clearly that that is the complaint. I mean, I'm probably (a) wasting my time asking for that and (b) the AEs are unlikely to be shut in the starting zones so it's moot anyway.

[biostem]

A better option, IMO, would be to give players access to the radio or newspaper automatically, upon reaching level 10 or so, and providing better guidance about how to locate a level-appropriate contact and how to obtain missions from them.

[Outrider_01]

Does it matter?  I am starting to see Darwin evolution in a lot of things in life, breeding out stupid by selective evolution.  Doesn't hurt anyone but the person.

 

On the other hand, take them as a sidekick and teach then the ropes of being a hero 👍

[TombTyrant]

I'll tell you what I like about this topic. Evidence of new people learning this game. What a wonderful thing.

[TheZag]

Im on the fence with this one.  Im not sure how much players should be 'forced' to learn while ingame (by forced i mean in an unsolicited popup like twinshot).  And while the player guides and wiki are useful,  they arent the same as having a user manual like came in the original box game.

 

If the help menu ingame were to get an overhaul and a way to link a specific page,  it could be much more useful to allow the veteran players to give the new players easy access to the information they need.

 

 

[Darmian]

Well, a pop up that says "Go see such and such in City Hall/wherever" and that NPC then gives a list of people to chat to?

[Harakh]

3 hours ago, Arli said:

"Today, I faced an interesting challenge"

 

The challenge wasn't yours from the beginning ^.^

 

... AE farms broadcast for lowbies frequently. That same new player could still join, and manage to reach the AE building. That new player would either be told how to get there, TP'd there, or broadcast for help on how to get to the AE farm instead... cyclical...

[GraspingVileTerror]

More enticing game content at low and mid levels would go much further, I think.  Naturally, that takes time, effort, and balancing galore, so it's not a simple solution.

 

But . . . REWARD players with interesting things outside of farms if you want players to not feel like they need to farm.

Which also means rebalancing in-game rewards.  They're so heavily weighted to Levels 45+ and 50 that there's only niche incentives for NOT farming to cap in a couple of hours.

Restricting access to AE will just piss people off, and won't stop them from farming.  Deleting AE will just piss people off, and they'll farm OTHER content (like they used to).

If we truly want people out of the farms, we need to give them a compelling REASON not to farm.  The rest of the game needs to be interesting enough to not just jump to the level cap, and then do it later.

 

And honestly . . . do we -really- care?

I mean, I personally would like to have more interesting content to do at low and mid levels.  

But if someone else wants to farm in AE their entire time playing the game, then it's absolutely no skin off my nose, or anyone else's.  That players just gets to do their own thing, at their own pace.  They can leave the farm any time they choose to.

 

So, again.  Broken record:

They can leave the farm any time they choose to.

Let's give them a GOOD reason to choose to, and then let them make their own choice.

[Take One]

2 hours ago, biostem said:

A better option, IMO, would be to give players access to the radio or newspaper automatically, upon reaching level 10 or so, and providing better guidance about how to locate a level-appropriate contact and how to obtain missions from them.

 

That doesn't help if a player doesn't know how to open their Contact tab or why they would want to open their Contact tab.

[biostem]

18 minutes ago, Take One said:

 

That doesn't help if a player doesn't know how to open their Contact tab or why they would want to open their Contact tab.

Then add it to the tutorial.  Removing options or imposing what you think is the preferred playstyle is not the answer...

[Take One]

I never suggested removing the AE building or anything.

 

If anything I would want to make Contacts easier to find.

 

There is a contact finder but it doesn't really work too great - it keeps finding contacts that make no sense, like at level 20 you get 10 or so contacts showing up in First Ward, but if you pick any other than the first one (Doorman, I think?) you'll mess it up. It should only show "introductory" contacts in cases like that.

 

[ZacKing]

11 hours ago, Darmian said:

Correct me if I am misreading this, but this seems like a complaint against early farming/PLing rather than against AE content in general.

 

It's Monday and we're due for the dozen or so "AE is destroying the world" posts...

[Apparition]

It's not about restricting access to AE.  There are sixteen other zones besides Atlas Park and Mercy Island with AE buildings, nothing would prevent anyone from using AE in those other zones.  It's about preventing AE from being the first thing newbies to the game are exposed to.  When a newbie first lands in Atlas Park, he or she is immediately inundated with people broadcasting: "Farm forming in AE.  Free levels!  Come join!"  Why would someone new to the game not join that?  He or she doesn't know that it's a terrible first game experience.  There's nothing telling them that that isn't how you play the game, or that newbies shouldn't join.  Indeed, many farmers entice newbies to join, thinking that they're doing the newbies a favor when in actuality they're doing a great harm.

 

If you limit AE to those sixteen other zones, at least a new player would have to know how to get to another zone to use it.

 

I think that many veterans to the game don't realize exactly how much damage AE has done to people that are new to the game and warped the newbies' perceptions of it.

Edited August 16, 2021 by Apparition

[ZacKing]

I think you're over exaggerating to be honest and making a whole lot of assumptions about other people based on your own personal biases.  First, removing AE from Atlas isn't going to solve anything.  New players can make the short trip over to KR to go into the AE building as soon as they enter Atlas and see a post for a farm that you're claiming they're "inundated" with.  Next, I don't find it all that annoying that a newer player may not know where to go or what to do.  That's what the community is supposed to be for.  I'm not going to berate people for getting PL'ed.  if they have a question, I'll help them if I can.  Tribal knowledge is always going to be better than any pop up window or tutorial.  

[Take One]

Maybe limit AE access to level 5+ so people at least have to punch a few Hellions on the way to the AE building.

[skoryy]

Have you considered advertising and running low level content for them?  All I ever see on LFG for pre-Posi lowbies is DFB and farms. 

[Coyotedancer]

I've seen farmers accused if a lot of things over the years, but I think that may be the first time I've ever seen us described like Evil Creepers offering free candy to sweet, innocent little noobs just to lure them to their eternal doom in our wicked, wicked AE farms.  How terribly Gothic. (In the literary sense, not that bats-and-eyeliner business. 😄 )

[TheZag]

Ya they arent saying that powerleveling is wrong or get rid of AE.  Just that a player should have the very basic ability to at least be able to reach another zone before a new player (not a new alt) joins a team at lvl 1 or 2 and comes out at lvl 22+.

 

Then there they sit with a character in the mid 20s which is just the level range that players say is when they finally get at least a full set of SOs because the enemies are finally fighting back.  But they dont know what an enhancement is or where to get some or what to do with them once they have some.

 

So they get frustrated and quit or ask for help.  The community is great with people that ask for help ingame but for those that just quit because they are dying and never asked for help is what this seems intended to address.

 

Ive farmed AE as well and powerleveled others and i dont feel this is aimed at reducing or hindering AE.  Just that its the way the OP feels will give new players a chance to acquire some very basic ingame skills before joining their first AE team.

[GraspingVileTerror]

Conflating an optional form of playing the game with "great harm" seems rather skewed as a perception for me.

I think someone's going to have to walk me through that every step of the way, making damned sure that each step isn't a logical fallacy for me to "get it."

[skoryy]

You could always force them to run Twinsho.... ahahahahahahaha.  Hooboy.  That was a good one, I tell you.

[Greycat]

 

15 hours ago, Arli said:

Today, I faced an interesting challenge: A new player had stopped playing for a bit after leveling to the mid-20s. They got to the level they attained through participating in AE content. They wanted a new mission, but had no idea where to look or how to find one. That player was helped, but they were also fortunate enough to be part of a community that was willing to help - and that they were willing to ask for help in the first place.

 

Is it possible to remove AE locations from starting zones to discourage this from happening? At least make sure players know how to move between zones before they join AE content? Nothing against AE content in general, but if players want new contacts and want to experience the game's original lore, they need to learn how to access it accordingly; and they can't do this in AE.

 

Should we also get rid of DFB? That's also a preferred form of "PLing" through the first few levels (often into the mid teens) that doesn't really teach you anything. And it's advertised at *least* as heavily as AE farms (more, honestly, from what I see.)

 

Plus, face it, COH is and has always been a bit of an aberration - so many other games don't "start" until you're max level and geared up that that's probably what they're expecting.

 

Make a worthwhile tutorial that people want to play through while we're at it (Twinshot sucks, and starts at level 5 anyway.)